User Reviewshttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/default.aspxUser reviews for Limboen-USTelligent Community 1.5.134.12297 (Build: 5.5.134.12297)GerardoExber's Review of LIMBO PChttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2014/04/19/gerardoexber-39-s-review-of-limbo-pc.aspxSat, 19 Apr 2014 18:41:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:6745966GerardoExber0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=6745966https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2014/04/19/gerardoexber-39-s-review-of-limbo-pc.aspx#comments<p>LIMBO is a game just like an ordinary 2D platformer, but dark atmosphere and challenging puzzles make the game shine.</p>
<p>This game is the second game that I play for this generation, and i&#39;m excited not only for that, but for have the honor to play a game where you have to take your brain to the limits.</p>
<p>You are a boy, who find himself in LIMBO, he wakes up and began his search for her sister, on the way he will find all kind of obstacles that he has to beat to continue.</p>
<p>That&#39;s pretty much the plot of the game, I could tell more but will be spoilers so I won&#39;t, one thing is certain, there will be parts in the game where you will see strange, rare and inexplicable things that may confused you, but if you take time and try to remember what really happened you will get your conclusion.</p>
<p>Story: Confusing, good, bad or rather unfinished depending on what you believe. -8-</p>
<p>Gameplay: HARD, the puzzles will make you suffer and may get you upset in no time. -10-</p>
<p>Graphics: Dark, somewhat scary and very good detailed. -9-</p>
<p>Sound: From low volume to high with great sound effects. -8-</p>
<p>Overall: Must play, while playing this game you won&#39;t only push yourself, you will be happy each time when beat a puzzle only to get into another one. Very challenging. -8.75-</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=6745966" width="1" height="1">User ReviewPCDying in A Game Never Felt So Goodhttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2013/07/05/dying-in-a-game-never-felt-so-good.aspxFri, 05 Jul 2013 23:29:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:3162828M. Sourman0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=3162828https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2013/07/05/dying-in-a-game-never-felt-so-good.aspx#comments<p class="MsoNormal">I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;ve mentioned in previous writings how big a deal
I believe atmosphere is in video games. As of late, developers seem to be
thinking the same thing; indie developers in particular. What with the huge
competition between the upcoming next-gen consoles, one of the big arguments
between the PS4 and Xbox One is the overall support of indie games. It&rsquo;s
already very clear that, unlike Microsoft, Sony is supporting indie developers
but before this turns into another Microsoft vs. Sony debate I should clarify
why I even brought up the subject. With the obvious success of games like <i>Journey</i>, I think indie games should be
respected and made available to as wide of an audience as possible. Without
atmosphere and beauty, every game would be <i>Angry
Birds</i>. And though I&rsquo;m sure many of the 17 year old girls that call
themselves &lsquo;gamers&rsquo; on Facebook would be fine with that, the rest of us likely
wouldn&rsquo;t. Where many of the more artistic indie games lack in polished and
diverse gameplay, they usually make up for with subtlety, emotion and mood.
This, of course, may not be for everyone but I do believe it will appeal to
much more than the games are marketed to. Where <i>Journey</i> told a very minimal story of beauty, <i>Limbo</i> does the same with sheer darkness.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Limbo</i> was praised
upon its release back in 2010 but has since seemed to have fallen through the
cracks when compared with the success of <i>Journey</i>.
It was games like these that paved the way for indie games to really take their
creativity to the next level. <i>Limbo</i> isn&rsquo;t
without its flaws gameplay-wise, but it is near perfect in every other aspect.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The game starts with a young boy waking up in the dark and
gloomy world of <i>Limbo</i>. There is no
dialogue or tutorial, nor is there ever a real story driving you through the
game. It is merely a series of puzzles, challenges and platforming that take
you from one deadly encounter to the next. And by &ldquo;deadly encounter&rdquo; I mean you
will die in <i>Limbo</i>. <i>A lot</i>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img border="0" src="http://www.gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer-Blogs-Components-WeblogFiles/00-00-00-69-02/2844.179561_2D00_36322_2D00_179561_2D00_LimboHangingjpg_2D00_620x.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="font-weight:bold;">You have no idea what you&rsquo;re getting into.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="font-weight:bold;"><br /></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A big part of this game is trial and error. Oftentimes you
will not have time to avoid sudden and unsettling deaths before figuring out a
way around it. <i>Limbo</i> encourages the
player to die so often that a large and important part of this game is in fact
the deaths. Every time you die in <i>Limbo</i>
you feel it. Never is it a long death sequence with rivers of blood flowing;
it&rsquo;s much more effective than throwing gore at you. They are often quick,
surprising and unnerving falls, stabbings or electrocutions. Because you play
as a young boy these deaths become downright disturbing. It&rsquo;s not everyday a
game forces you to watch a child be decapitated. And because of the game&rsquo;s shady,
black and white art style it never becomes blatantly offensive.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You will encounter many interesting things in <i>Limbo</i> and I promise you one of them is
not the controls. Most actions like pushing, pulling or climbing work just
fine. Jumping however has seemed to have taken a page out of <i>Ghosts &lsquo;n Goblins&rsquo;</i> book. That&rsquo;s right, <i>Limbo</i> uses real life physics; meaning once
you jump, you can&rsquo;t change directions or even push your character further in
the same direction. This combined with difficult timing-based puzzles result in
far more deaths than were already present. What makes these deaths less
forgiving is that they aren&rsquo;t there to help the player figure out the solution
to the situation at hand. They&rsquo;re almost entirely because of mistimed jumps.
There&rsquo;s nothing more annoying in a puzzle game than knowing the solution but
simply unable to pull it off. Luckily, these problems are somewhat interesting and
challenging when tackling the game for the first time. My second playthrough,
however, was where most of these problems became frustratingly evident.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img border="0" src="http://www.gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer-Blogs-Components-WeblogFiles/00-00-00-69-02/1007.2011_2D00_08_2D00_25_5F00_00001.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><i>So close.</i></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Limbo</i> is a work of
art, without question. It manages to immerse the player completely without the
need of dialogue or even music. Subtle tone cues accompany events within the
game to great effect but that is as far as it will go with music. Trees
rustling, gears turning, saws buzzing&mdash;the natural sounds of the game make it
feel that much more real and enticing, albeit dark. Then the sight of the
little boy being ground up like hamburger immediately smacks you right across
the face.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is so much to appreciate with this game that it&rsquo;s hard
to sum up within a few short paragraphs. In its short adventure it only manages
to further the argument that video games are another form of art. Though bleak
and oozing with hopelessness, <i>Limbo</i>
is inspiring and gives me the assurance that the video game medium is pointed
in the right direction.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Follow me on Tumblr for more video game, movie and music reviews at&nbsp;<a href="http://readingrightonthelines.tumblr.com/">http://readingrightonthelines.tumblr.com/</a></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><br /></i></p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=3162828" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360LIMBOpuzzleadventureps3Review - Limbo (PSN)https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2012/09/09/review-limbo-psn.aspxMon, 10 Sep 2012 02:00:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:2198433BLiNDFATES0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=2198433https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2012/09/09/review-limbo-psn.aspx#comments<p>
<p>oh, where to begin with this game...</p>
<p><img width="300" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/Limbo_Box_Art.jpg" height="400" alt="" /></p>
<p>Limbo can be bought in the Playstation store, as well as the x-box live arcade respectively, for a believe a meager $15 [possibly $10][either way its worth it!]. whats best about this game is you wont find&nbsp;another game like it. its hard to explain what it is that makes this game so unique unless you see for yourself. but i&#39;ll try...</p>
<p>the story isnt told through cutscenes, for there are none. but heres what we know: your a young boy who is treking his way through Limbo [for those who dont know, Limbo is one of the levels of hell (if youre refering&nbsp; to Dante Alegheri&#39;s The Inferno)] to find your lost sister. thats all the back story there is, and frankly, its all it needs...</p>
<p>how does one fight his way through hell? well our young hero makes his way through with some very simple actions. grab, jump, and direction. 2 buttons and either left or right on an analog stick.simple enough? using these small moves, you&#39;ll have to jump over traps and gaps, pull objects to get to a higher point. the variety is incredible for onle having 4 button options. i cant stress how great this is.</p>
<p><img width="500" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Y-20llFH8FA/TEhZgn8C_oI/AAAAAAAAEFc/j7boWKRNtkk/s1600/limboPlayDeadGames.jpg" height="300" alt="" /></p>
<p>you spend the first half of the game in what apears to&nbsp; be a forest where strange other people seem to be bent on killing you. you dont actually fight them, but you have to doge their traps, and run, and other things. the second half of the game is set in this factory type thing where the gameplay becomes more puzzled base.</p>
<p>now what makes this game fun is the ability to die and not be set back by it. the game is strongly base on &quot;trial and death&quot;. you will die alot and thats just how youre going to figure out what to do next, or how to solve a puzzle. and it never seems to get old or frustrating.</p>
<p>other things that make this a great game is just to presentation. the look is great. its all black and white shades for this sidescroller. is just looks fantastic. see for yourself:</p>
<p><img width="500" src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2___HeMznZ0/0.jpg" height="300" alt="" /></p>
<p>it sets the mood perfectly. as for sound, there is no music score, only sound affects and the vibration noises that are almost echoes off of the sound affects. its hard to explain. also the game is very physics based. especially durring the later puzzles including gravity and water.</p>
<p>as for the downsides to this game, the only thing i can think of is that the puzzles can really have you stumped at times. the answers are usually right in front of you but they arent aparently clear. i have to admit that twice i had to look online for a hint on how to beat a couple puzzles cause i literally couldnt figure out what to do. but this i admit, also kind of makes this game what it is.</p>
<p>i cant stress how uniquely awsome this game is, but i call it a must try for everyone. there is a free lengthy demo available for those of you afraid to drop down some money, so make it a priority to at least try that out! great game.</p>
</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=2198433" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360LIMBOPSNThe Definition of Atmospherehttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2012/01/08/the-definition-of-atmosphere.aspxMon, 09 Jan 2012 01:39:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:1610512Jack Gardner0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=1610512https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2012/01/08/the-definition-of-atmosphere.aspx#comments<p><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer-Blogs-Components-WeblogFiles/00-00-00-69-02/6472.2012_2D00_01_2D00_03_5F00_00001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br />Limbo is the adventure of a young boy who&hellip; probably wants to escape from the hellish world he awakens to find himself trapped inside. There is not much to the story of Limbo, and there really does not need to be one. The small visual cues tell the player everything that needs to be said. While there is solid gameplay and clever puzzles throughout the short game that is Limbo, the real triumph is the mysterious atmosphere of the indie hit. </p>
<p><br />Limbo visually comes across as a relic from the early days of cinema. Black and white and everything in between are the only colors that will be seen on your screen from start to finish. White light is a rarity in Limbo, but when it appears it brings with it a breath of fresh air and a strange feeling of hope. The vast majority of the game is dark and that darkness usually indicates death and evil. Throughout my time with Limbo, I was impaled, electrocuted, beheaded, mutilated, and crushed. The first time through many deaths will result from a failure to identify deadly traps or objects (since many of them are just black shapes). </p>
<p><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer-Blogs-Components-WeblogFiles/00-00-00-69-02/8233.2012_2D00_01_2D00_03_5F00_00005.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br />It was surprisingly graphic for how sparsely the game visually presents itself. The young boy&rsquo;s journey begins in a woodland area but gradually becomes more and more industrialized flowing into factory settings. The background is almost always gloomy and speaks of other boys who lost their lives to the grown men who inhabit Limbo or committed suicide. Mysterious men place traps and snares, at one point even giving chase with guns to hunt down and kill the young boy. In the background, you can see faint outlines of tree-houses, industrial complexes, swampland, and steel girders. </p>
<p><br />The overall tone of the game is very muted; silent and hopeless. The sound composition of the game follows suit to enhance the feel of Limbo. There is almost no music in the game and for the most part, the only sounds that you hear are some ambient noise and the sound of your own interactions with the environment.</p>
<p><br />All of these things would not matter if Limbo did not function as a competent platformer. In this area it falls a bit short, but only in certain nitpicky areas. For the most part, Limbo performs admirably. The best platforms are those that take basic skills learned throughout the game and apply them in interesting and challenging ways. You can interact with the environment, move right and left, and jump. That is it. However, moving through the game reveals other tools, boxes that can be moved, gravity machines and magnets, ropes, and bear traps. One of the most interesting involves a mind-controlling slug that attaches itself to the boy&#39;s cranium and forces him to travel in a single direction. There is not a single repeated challenge or puzzle that I can recall. I can remember being frustrated by difficult puzzles, but never enough to make me want to stop playing. These are all points to Limbo&rsquo;s credit. </p>
<p><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer-Blogs-Components-WeblogFiles/00-00-00-69-02/4162.2012_2D00_01_2D00_03_5F00_00004.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br />The one area where I felt uncomfortable with Limbo&rsquo;s gameplay mechanics was the gravity of the game. It seems very floaty and slow. That might just be my own failure to adapt to the game, but it caused some deaths that shouldn&rsquo;t have happened; getting crushed under a slowly falling box, ruining timings, and under or overestimating how far jumps would send me. This is a very minor complaint and dying does not really negatively affect the enjoyment of the game since after every major obstacle the game automatically saves, but I thought it was still worth mentioning in this review. </p>
<p><br />To finish up, Limbo is an artistic marvel. It oozes the qualities that people are going to be citing as proof that video games can be art. The game is very short and can be completed in one or two sittings the first time through. Due to how short and artistically appealing it is (especially the ending, which reeks of existential symbolism) Limbo practically demands multiple playthroughs. </p>
<p><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer-Blogs-Components-WeblogFiles/00-00-00-69-02/5621.2012_2D00_01_2D00_03_5F00_00003.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></p>
<p>Now, without further ado&hellip; </p>
<p><b>The Breakdown</b></p>
<p><b>Concept:</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A young boy awakens in a hostile environment and attempts to escape.</p>
<p><b>Art Design:</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A black and white artistic masterpiece.</p>
<p><b>Sound:</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Not a lot of sound, but it adds to the atmosphere quite effectively.</p>
<p><b>Playability:</b> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Simple and effective, if a bit floaty.</p>
<p><b>Replay Value:</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; High</p>
<p><b>Is It Fun?:&nbsp;&nbsp;</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Yes.</p>
<p><b>Recommended For:</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The indie game crowd and for those looking for a game to cite as art.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1610512" width="1" height="1">User ReviewLIMBOReview&lt; ColonelByrd95artNietzsche would be proudQuixoticdarknesslightJackPCMoody and satisfyinghttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2011/09/12/moody-and-satisfying.aspxMon, 12 Sep 2011 20:22:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:1228016Ronin Ako0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=1228016https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2011/09/12/moody-and-satisfying.aspx#comments<p><span>
<p>I just finished LIMBO and I was just blown away from start to finish. I went in expecting a solid puzzle/platformer and was rewarded with so much more, time after time.</p>
<p>I will start off with what I did not like about the game. The only thing I can come up with is the length of it. I&#39;m not one that thinks a developer should lengthen a game just for the heck of it but I was very disappointed that it ended so abruptly and that was it...I suppose any attempt to add to it may have created some boredom or repeating puzzles/segments but still, I would have loved more secrets and puzzles, maybe some more free-form exploration.</p>
<p>First, the visuals. Like monochrome black and white with varying shades of grey. A very stark presentation throughout, hazy and crisp at the same time. The level design had different areas that would phase with a seamless transition. First an almost ancient tribal jungle/forest area which somehow flowed into a 1950&#39;s industrial revolution complete with gears and whirring machinery puzzles, electricity and old-timey elevators. The last area remained somewhat industrialized yet contained gravity altering switches and levers that would rotate the world all while requiring the player to solve puzzles on the fly.</p>
<p>The audio was subtle yet very atmospheric with the occasional ambient tone shift upon solving certain puzzles. Pretty much just the boys&#39; footsteps sounding sort of enclosed I guess. Like hearing it from within the world he was in.</p>
<p>The puzzles were very clever and pretty much all physics based. They had realistic solutions, discounting the later gravity-shifting moments. They all required a bit of thought, some more than others and I was only left totally stumped a few times. Death was rampant as the design philosophy seemed to be trial and error. Sometimes you would just have to die first to rule out a possible solution. Despite that, I rarely found myself frustrated even when I was just plain stuck.</p>
<p>The end left me wanting more but also kept me thinking and trying to decipher meaning from all of the (possible) symbolic elements of the game, all which tied into the core puzzle-solving mechanic.</p>
<p>Overall a solid platform-puzzle game, with a very moody atmosphere and unique visual style.</p>
</span></p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1228016" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360SCARY!!!https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2011/06/26/scary.aspxSun, 26 Jun 2011 16:33:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:1022435finnandjake640https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=1022435https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2011/06/26/scary.aspx#comments<p>Take gore scare and horror put it in a never ending chain(literally) and you get limbo!</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1022435" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360Scary CrapA Beautiful Nightmarehttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/27/a-beautiful-nightmare.aspxSat, 28 Aug 2010 00:53:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:477042Vernonator0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=477042https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/27/a-beautiful-nightmare.aspx#comments<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Its not like me to give a XLBA game a very high score, but once I purchased Limbo and booted the game up, I knew my perception of these types of games was about to change. Limbo, like my title states, is a beautiful nightmare. Your character, a mysterious young boy who is nothing more than a black figure with two beady white eyes, is new to the game just like you. He wakes up in the middle of a dark forest, and its up to you and him to discover the world for yourselves. </p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I found myself amazed by the artistic design of this game, and yet at the same time, fearful of whatever was around the next corner. Its what you can&#39;t see that instills fear, and this game does a incredible job of that. Whether its a spider lurking in the shadows, or a group of three dark figured people chasing you with blow darts, this game always plays with your mind.</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The level design is incredibly creative as well, and also plays along with the color pallets that the designers chose. Everything is grainy, blurry, and foggy. You never know exactly where you are at at anytime. The level design hints at certain themes, like caves, hotels, or forests, but the exact locations are never told. Basically, this game just gives you a taste of what it can offer and leaves you craving more.</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I also enjoyed how dark the game could get. Even though this story is of a little boy, don&#39;t expect some Yoshi&#39;s Island or Mario side scroller. Limbo can get very violent. Some of the death sequences show the boy being impaled, decapitated, and numerous other terrible deaths. I thought this worked perfect with the atmosphere of the game, and I found myself looking forward to a death much like I did with Issac Clark in Dead Space.</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One of the reasons I gave Limbo such a high score was because of the fact that it changed my outlook on XLBA games for good. Anything that can take a negative outlook to a positive one deserves some props. My hope is that they make a full xbox 360 game out of this idea. Everyone needs to try this game.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=477042" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360Limbo. A World Unlike Any Other.https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/27/limbo-a-world-unlike-any-other.aspxFri, 27 Aug 2010 20:57:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:476455Kevin 0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=476455https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/27/limbo-a-world-unlike-any-other.aspx#comments<p>Never before has a XBOX Live Arcade title impressed me as much as Limbo. This game offers a unique experience that can only be realized through playing the game for yourself. Because of the absence of dialog and story, players are unknowingly put into the shoes of this little boy. After taking his first steps into the world of Limbo, curiosity as well as imagination begin to run wild. In a way, Limbo becomes a story that develops according to the player&#39;s interpretation of the eerie environment and disturbing desolation.&nbsp; </p>
<p>The surprisingly simple control scheme allows any skill leveled player to pick up the controller and begin exploring. What&#39;s even better is that these simple controls allow for a wide range of movement and physical interaction that don&#39;t really allow players to get bored very easily. Along with the interactive environments, secrets lie strewn all about the world and can unlock achievements and further completion of the game.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend this game for anyone who simply enjoys puzzlers as well as side scrolling adventures. But don&#39;t expect the game to be that simple. Because, unlike other titles out there, this game makes the player <i>feel</i> and really taps into something else that&#39;s never been explored in gaming before.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=476455" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360Limbo Review: A Surreal, Ingenious Adventure https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/24/limbo-review-a-surreal-ingenious-adventure.aspxTue, 24 Aug 2010 21:04:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:471658Pipo0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=471658https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/24/limbo-review-a-surreal-ingenious-adventure.aspx#comments<p>Limbo is another refreshing take on the puzzle genre, like Portal and Braid before it. While I would not put Limbo right up next to those two games in terms of overall innovation and inspiration, Limbo is definitely one of the most interesting, and certainly the most beautiful Xbox Live Arcade game I have ever played. The distinctive, much talked about art style, the gruesome &quot;trial by death&quot; gameplay, and the overall dark, dreary atmosphere combine to&nbsp;form a great&nbsp;game that leaves an impression, despite its unfortunately short length and less interesting second half.</p>
<p>------------------------------------------------</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>AT A GLANCE:</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>WHAT IT IS: </strong>A puzzle-platformer that finds a child looking for his sister in&nbsp;the spooky, hostile word of Limbo (and not the Inception kind, whereas he would wake up every time he died...OR WOULD HE?!?!)</p>
<p><strong>WHAT YOU&#39;LL LIKE: </strong>The unmistakeable art style and creepy atmosphere, the giant spider, and the momentum/gravity puzzles</p>
<p><strong>WHAT YOU WON&#39;T LIKE: </strong>The bland environments of the second act, the short length, and the&nbsp;(very)&nbsp;limited replay value</p>
<p>-----------------------------------------------</p>
<p>I think that it is quite fair to use the two aforementioned puzzle games in comparison to Limbo, especially Braid, because they not only brought puzzle games into the same spotlight as any other genre of game, but because Limbo takes a lot of queues from these past successes. Braid one over fans due to its ambiguous narrative, unique art style, and clever puzzle/platforming gameplay that gets trickier as the game goes forth. Limbo tries for all of these features, and succeeds a good amount of the time. The biggest success are the visuals, which is necessary for getting gamers&#39; attention, and illustrating what the game is all about. You play as a boy in the &#39;limbo&#39; state between life and death. You went in looking for your sister, and that is the only concrete details you have about the story. Limbo is pure black and white, with shadowy, blurry trees and buildings in the background, and all sorts of grim looking architecture and nature in the foreground with your little character. There is no music, leaving you to hear the ambient noises of the forest and some sort of industrialist facility, and your own footsteps, throughout the entire adventure. The dark, foreboding atmosphere and minimal sound design combine to create a feeling that you are truly isolated in a scary world. </p>
<p>Isolation doesn&#39;t mean you are alone, however. In the first act of the game, you have multiple encounters with a giant spider, and eventually meet some other, murderous human characters, about the same young age as our silent protagonist. That would explain the multitude of booby traps waiting throughout the first half. The first time I accidentally touched a bear trap and it snapped off the boy&#39;s head in a split second, I jumped out of my seat. Every death you encounter (and there will be tons) is just as gruesome, but like in any violent video game, the effect loses its punch rather quickly, despite this game featuring a child as the victim. Later in the game, you&#39;ll even be willing to plunge your hero to his death in order to better understand what lies in front of you, and how best to defeat the challenge. </p>
<p>The game begins with simple puzzles, like pushing a box to get to higher ground. The easy gameplay and beautifully desolate environments leave you to stare in wonder at the world of Limbo, and the spider set pieces are easily the game&#39;s best moments. After pushing through gangs of other humans, you eventually get through the forest and to a factory-like structure, where the puzzle complexity (and therefore the challenge) ramps up. The puzzles are the most ingenious at this point, moving from basic box/switch/rope puzzles to intricate momentum-focused challenges. However, your surroundings are a lot less interesting at this point. I understand that indoor environments are necessary for the puzzles that shift gravity, but developer Play Dead should have thought up some strategies to make the second half just as visually interesting as the outdoor sections. No set-pieces like the spider or enemy children appear here, which is baffling. Isn&#39;t excitement supposed to ramp up as you progress?</p>
<p>There isn&#39;t really a story in Limbo. Instead, there are merely hints that some sort of narrative is implied. Things like a neon hotel side, the spider, the other kids....it all kind of implies there is more going on. Whereas Braid was acclaimed for having a story that was flexible enough to fit different explanations, Limbo is too far on that side. I desperately wanted to know why he was there, and what these things that appeared meant, but there simply isn&#39;t enough in the game to formulate some sort of conclusion. Did his sister have an accident at a hotel? Was this boy picked on by other kids, hence the enemies? Give me something! &nbsp;While on the subject, I also got the vague notion that the developers were trying to touch on video game clich&eacute;s like simple &#39;find the princess&#39; plots, and the overuse of violence and blood. But if so, it isn&#39;t clear enough in the finished product. That&#39;s two unfulfilled narrative tasks in one game. </p>
<p>While I criticized plenty of the game&#39;s features, one bulletproof spot is the puzzle designs.&nbsp; Portal and Braid were so brilliant because they gave the gamer simple rules at the beginning (in Braid at the beginning of each chapter), and then the game utilized these simple rules in incredibly complex ways. The navigation puzzles are basic and aren&#39;t nearly as unique as thinking with portals or controlling time. But once you get indoors and the puzzles get really awesome, switches that turn gravity in different directions and other interesting physics-based mechanics are taken full advantage of. &nbsp;Then there are the brain slugs, which force you to go left or right, and switch directions when exposed to light. Easily the coolest, trickiest puzzle mechanic, and the most unique, the brain slugs also highlight how the game takes simple platforming action and twists it into something much more inspired. </p>
<p>So while it isn&#39;t the masterpiece that Braid or Portal is, it&#39;s still worth playing. It has arguably the coolest art style to be found on Xbox Live Arcade, and despite its short length, it crams plenty of fully realized puzzle concepts within. If only there was some replay value beyond the achievements (which all involve finding secret eggs), more frequent set-piece encounters, and a less-abrupt ending (seriously, it&#39;s incredibly anti-climactic) it would be a no-brainer instant buy for anyone with Xbox Live. However, due to these admittedly small gripes, it isn&#39;t for everyone. If you are a puzzle game fan, you&#39;ve likely already bought it. I&#39;m not a puzzle fan, but I loved the two games I&#39;ve mentioned again and again in this review; if you do too, then you&#39;ll probably love what Limbo has achieved, and should check it out as well. For anyone who loves unconventional art styles (such as with Rez or Ico), this is also a good choice. Not the next groundbreaking puzzle experience, but pretty freaking cool.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=471658" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360ArcadeplatformerSummer of ArcadeLIMBOplaydeadxbla360xboxStuck in Purgatory: LIMBO reviewhttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/23/stuck-in-purgatory-limbo-review.aspxTue, 24 Aug 2010 04:10:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:470729IshimuraByrd0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=470729https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/23/stuck-in-purgatory-limbo-review.aspx#comments<p>Limbo or Purgatory is a Catholic belief that between Heaven and Hell there is a place for the lost and for those who were neither good nor bad. That is where the XBLA exclusive puzzle game <em>Limbo </em>takes you (maybe). You play a boy who awakes in a forest, begins walking around and discovers that this is no ordinary world. It is a world populated by dangerous creatures and traps and other children who don&#39;t take well to you being there.<br /><br /><a name="more"></a><br /><br />This is no ordinary game either. It is a black and white game with no dialogue, sparse music and very VERY dark places. The game&#39;s very unique art style makes it stand out from any other game I had ever played. The art style reminds you of the Film Noir and German Expressionist films and really creates a tense atmosphere. The game at points cuts off lighting except for your character&#39;s eyes and a swinging light bulb, which creates a terrifying and claustrophobic atmosphere which will make you jump a few times during the game.<br /><br />One thing you will do a lot of in <em>Limbo </em>is die. And not only die but die in shocking and gruesome ways. Seeing a little boy decapitated, cut to pieces and have his intestines ripped out will be a shocker to most gamers. However the game rarely becomes frustrating as the plentiful checkpoints will please most gamers. Also the developers have described <em>Limbo </em>as a &quot;Trial and Death&quot; game as you will learn quickly how to beat the puzzles. However, you won&#39;t learn too much as almost every single puzzle is different in it&#39;s own way.<br /><br />At the end of the six-seven hour ride through this beautiful game is one of the most beautiful, heartfelt and mystifying ending which is one of the greatest non-cut scene endings I&#39;ve ever played. It exposes all the main character&#39;s motivations and provides a satisfying conclusion to your adventure.<br /><br />Now the game isn&#39;t perfect. The last 1/3 of the game is extremely difficult and might even send seasoned puzzle game players to the online walkthroughs. The 1200 MS points for the six-seven hour game is completely overpriced and should have been somewhere in the 400-500 MS points range.<br /><br />Now, buy or skip (no XBLA rentals). Well if you&rsquo;re a puzzle player you should buy this game immediately. If not wait for the inevitable price drop but still play it. Everyone should play it.<br /><br />Danish developer Playdead has made a stunning masterpiece. The simplistic gameplay combined with the non-repetitive puzzles and brilliant art style make this one of the most original, creative and sophisticated games out there. I&#39;ll leave you with this. If I had to choose one game to sum up why video games are art I&#39;d probably choose this one.<em> </em><br /><br /><em>Written by Matthew Byrd: Gamertag: ColonelByrd95 </em></p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=470729" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360LIMBOReview&lt; ColonelByrd95IshimuraByrdThis is it: LIMBOhttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/19/this-is-it-limbo.aspxFri, 20 Aug 2010 02:42:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:464278Kyralik0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=464278https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/19/this-is-it-limbo.aspx#comments<p>All I have to say is: &quot;Wow&quot;.</p>
<p>I have been playing this game since it&#39;s release this summer, and I greatly respect it.&nbsp; One thing I personally enjoy about this instant classic is it&#39;s lack of tutorial; you are dropped off in a forest with NOTHING.&nbsp; I love that.&nbsp; The majority of the game centralizes around a darker, more mysterious background.&nbsp; There are things you notice right off the bat, even in the demo, from random bear traps which literally decapitate you, to massive spiders which impale you&nbsp; to the point of absolute decommission.&nbsp; Overall this game deserves a &#39;rave review&#39; due to it&#39;s complexity and integrity.&nbsp; I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys thinking and solving time-sensitive puzzles.&nbsp; So go ahead, snag it from the Marketplace, it&#39;s only 1200 points.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.metacafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/limbo-tp.jpg" style="max-width:610px;" border="0" alt="" /></p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=464278" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360LIMBO360xboxAll around great gamehttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/18/all-around-great-game.aspxWed, 18 Aug 2010 03:25:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:461079HeartBreak130https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=461079https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/18/all-around-great-game.aspx#comments<p>I was hesitant to download this game at first simply because it seemed bland and colorless, literally. However, color doesn&#39;t need to be present to make this game outstanding. It got frustrating at times, although I can chalk that up to personal impatience, but the game is solid. I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting a different approach to a puzzle/platformer. Most definitely worth the buy. Playdead did a phenomenal job with this very unique and intriguing game.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=461079" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360ArcadeplatformerSummer of ArcadeLIMBOplaydeadxblaLimbohttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/17/limbo.aspxTue, 17 Aug 2010 16:02:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:459436Austin Jones0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=459436https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/17/limbo.aspx#comments<p>I&#39;m not generally a platformer kind of guy but this game was brilliant! The creepy yet beautiful atmosphere, the confusing yet undeniable plot, and the strange and unexplained ending all made me happy inside.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=459436" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360A Thrilling Achievement (spoilers!)https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/14/a-thrilling-achievement-spoilers.aspxSat, 14 Aug 2010 06:40:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:456098glENnJOY0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=456098https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/14/a-thrilling-achievement-spoilers.aspx#comments<p>I rarely download Xbox Live Arcade games. Most of the time, I don&#39;t hear about the great ones. Sometimes, I just don&#39;t want to spend the money on a game so short in length or small in scope. Thankfully for GameInformer&#39;s review, I was able to find this game and download almost as soon as I read it.</p>
<p>This game is an experience. The art style is incredible, as anyone will tell you. The puzzles are altogether challenging, rewarding, and incredible. My heart pounded more than it ever did while playing Resident Evil or Dead Space, or any game in which horror was the goal.</p>
<p>The only thing I can truly complain about were the sometimes unfair deaths related to a few of the puzzles. I do not mean the ones which require trial-and-error, for that is most of the game. What I do mean is those rare occasions in which you do figure out the puzzle, and for some reason, you are unable to execute it because of circumstances beyond your control or because of a split second misstep. This was rare, however.</p>
<p>Many who gripe about the game will examine its lack of plot, and at first I would have agreed. But along the way (at least, if you knew about the little bit of story there was to begin with), you begin to truly care about the boy you guide toward his sister. Each death, although beautiful, pains you a little. This in itself is amazing. Those two eyes beaming out toward the screen and toward his path become your doorways to the boy. I did not need cutscenes, nor did I need speech bubbles or dialogue in order to get goosebumps when the boy passed through the barrier after the last puzzle and your character seemingly started over. I did not need an explanation when those two eyes met his sister&#39;s and you knew that the nightmare was finally over.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="https://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=456098" width="1" height="1">User ReviewXbox 360Limbo Review: Playing with Deathhttps://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/10/limbo-review-playing-with-death.aspxTue, 10 Aug 2010 20:21:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:450810sebastian shade0https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=450810https://www.gameinformer.com/games/limbo/b/user_reviews/archive/2010/08/10/limbo-review-playing-with-death.aspx#comments<p>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://gameinformer.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/00.00.00.69.02/2474.limbo3_2D00_large.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/00.00.00.69.02/2474.limbo3_2D00_large.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Breaking the water of this year&rsquo;s Summer of Arcade is <a href="http://www.limbogame.org/">Limbo</a>,
a game about childhood, survival and death. Although the concept and gameplay
don&rsquo;t exactly scream, &ldquo;Summer fun for everyone!&rdquo; the game is hauntingly
gorgeous, provocative and deserves its place in the limelight of Microsoft&rsquo;s
marketing machine.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Limbo is the first child of the Danish studio Playdead. And
just a glance at Limbo distinguishes it from any other downloadable or console
title.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It&rsquo;s no stillbirth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Its aesthetic is film noir: black silhouettes fade in and
out of focus against a powdery grey and mother-of-pearl atmosphere. The world
is detailed and dynamic and the animations move with a dreamy, gentle languor.
The sound design vivifies the experience. Droning bass ebbs and flows through
the game&rsquo;s eerie silence, and sometimes an ambient, Brian Eno-esque blend of
notes briefly alights on Limbo, dissolving the disquiet with moments of gentle
wonder.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is no text, dialogue or context to what&rsquo;s happening in
Limbo: you simply play as a boy who awakes in a forest and wants to get out.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the boy sits up, opens his opal eyes and starts ambling
past the silhouettes of tree trunks, Limbo seems to be missing something. There
is no music and the boy doesn&rsquo;t appear to be disturbed, frightened or even in a
hurry to get somewhere. No narrative presents itself. The game has begun.
That&rsquo;s all you know.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This introduction induces a feeling akin to dreaming. And I
don&rsquo;t mean the game looks dreamy &ndash; although it does &ndash; I mean the game presents
itself like a dream. Playing it feels similar to arriving in those dreams in
which you wake up and find you&rsquo;re already in the middle of a task &ndash; as though
your dream had existed before you fell asleep and found yourself in it. Not yet
knowing your goals or desires, you just go with it and not too long after
you&rsquo;ve started dreaming you realize what&rsquo;s going on.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is sort of how Limbo greets you: it introduces itself
with what it tastefully lacks. For as you manage the first few puzzles (a pit,
a puddle, a bed a thorns), become accustomed to the boy&rsquo;s puerile animations,
the lack of music and the darkness, you start to feel comfortable in Limbo&rsquo;s
gloom. However, once you understand the controls, it only takes a minute for
the guiding force of the game, lying in ambush in every shadow, to reveal
itself: death.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Death is my Shepard, I shall not want. That&rsquo;s the gameplay
in a verse. Death leads you through Limbo. It works to point out where puzzles
are and, in a way, how to get around them (after they&rsquo;ve killed you, of
course).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://gameinformer.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/00.00.00.69.02/7870.1404071_2D00_limbo_5F00_esrb_5F00_t_5F00_720p30_5F00_st_5F00_6300kbps_5F00_53.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/00.00.00.69.02/7870.1404071_2D00_limbo_5F00_esrb_5F00_t_5F00_720p30_5F00_st_5F00_6300kbps_5F00_53.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first time death (with no cloak or scythe) greets you
the effect is physically startling. It isn&rsquo;t scary, but perturbing. The boy,
defenseless and guileless, dies so quickly he&rsquo;s given no time to scream or
utter the faintest cry. It&rsquo;s just: boy, bear-trap. beheaded! A raindrop runs
down your vertebrae. A profanity flees from your throat. Even for a gamer used
to ridiculous violence, Limbo&rsquo;s world feels especially harsh.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After you witness the first few deaths, the unsettling
effect fades. After you die, you&rsquo;re instantly placed before the puzzle that
killed you. No loading screens, no waiting; you just get to try and survive
again until the next puzzle kills you. This mechanic keeps the game fresh;
without it Limbo would be impossibly frustrating.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the game progresses, the forest landscape gradually
morphs into a flooded industrial dreamscape, where the puzzles incorporate some
bizarre physics and become increasingly clever and pleasing to solve. The last
quarter of the game is simply brilliant.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Despite having a child protagonist, Limbo is not for
children. Both the audio and visual aesthetics give Limbo&rsquo;s violence a degree
of objectivity &ndash; as if, in Limbo&rsquo;s world, that amount of violence were
ordinary. The boy doesn&rsquo;t whimper or cry when he&rsquo;s crushed by a rock or shish
kabob-ed by gravity. The lights of his eyes go out and he dies &ndash;simply: gore
sans agony. And since the boy doesn&rsquo;t seem to feel for himself, you feel for
him, and depending on the situation, your response to his despise may be a
grimace, gaff or laugh.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://gameinformer.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/00.00.00.69.02/8004.screenshot05_2D00_800x450.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/00.00.00.69.02/8004.screenshot05_2D00_800x450.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Playing the silent hero, you&rsquo;ll chance upon the corpses of
many children &ndash; noosed, hanging in the ether, imprisoned in wooden boxes,
drowned, impaled, crushed &ndash; and the shadows of other (living) kids who want to
kill you. The unexplained hostility of Limbo&rsquo;s populous and its complete lack
of camaraderie is unnerving. Despite the game&rsquo;s dark sense of humor, there are
moments, such as when you use the cadaver of a drowned boy as a raft, that
deftly frame the loneliness, sorrow, and mundanity of survival.<span>&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The loneliness of the experience and irony of the inhuman
child protagonist produces a longing for a human touch, which does appear in
the game as a brief, ghostly vision of a little girl.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Limbo will take you around 4 or 5 hours to beat, assuming
you get stuck for a while at one or two puzzles. Compared to some games, that&rsquo;s
short, but Limbo makes use of every minute. The game never stops; it flows,
sweeping you up in its atmosphere and increasingly difficult puzzles. No
cut-scenes. No loading. No repetition of gameplay. Just running, jumping, dying
and solving.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One common criticism of Limbo is that its ending arrives out
of nowhere &ndash; without an appropriate escalation or structured climax. The ending
is certainly surprising, but I enjoyed it. I found it complimented, albeit
strangely, the difficulty progression, producing in me a feeling of elated
weightlessness &ndash; as though I were a sprite slowly spiraling to the floor of a
parking lot in a 2-D fighter after the last roundhouse met my chin and rendered
liquid life a glacier as the neon K.O. told my bruised and cross-eyed avatar
that it was o.k. to loose, to die. It&rsquo;s an ending I trust I&rsquo;ll remember if not
mentally (as in how exactly it came about) then physically, the way one
remembers the feeling of his first back-flip attempt on a trampoline.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As far as replay goes, it&rsquo;s there, but in the form of a
different game. Assuming you remember the puzzles, the game isn&rsquo;t about puzzle
solving, but one where you collect orbs for achievements or try and beat the
game with fewer deaths. And, for a sadistic 10 points, you can try beating the
game in one sitting, under five hours dying fewer than five times. If you&rsquo;ve
got some free time this summer, that&rsquo;s something to shoot for. (And for some
reason unknown to me, I&rsquo;m going to attempt this.)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There may be some of you who don&rsquo;t think $15 is worth 5
hours of 2-D gameplay. To put it bluntly, you&rsquo;re wrong. Limbo is an
achievement. Its gameplay never repeats itself, its style is unforgettable and
it&rsquo;s sure to spur an emotional response in any humanoid with a steady pulse.
And, above all, it&rsquo;s fun. If you&rsquo;re not broke, I&rsquo;d encourage you to throw a
small bouquet of Microsoft points at Playdead&rsquo;s feet. Although I&rsquo;ve played Mass
Effect 2 and Red Dead this year, I get the feeling that Limbo will be the
highlight of my 2010 gaming experience. Get it: Go play with death.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">P.S. And perhaps, with time on our side, a game like Limbo
will make Roger Ebert print off his blog, eat it whole and ingest his defensive
and asinine ink like an old, embarrassed octopus. Perhaps.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://gameinformer.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/00.00.00.69.02/8306.limbo_2D00_349535_2D00_1268890926.jpeg"><img border="0" src="http://gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/00.00.00.69.02/8306.limbo_2D00_349535_2D00_1268890926.jpeg" alt="" /></a></p>
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